This invention relates to paperboard containers for processing and handling a baker product and is more particularly concerned with improvements in a processing and packaging arrangement in which a collapsed container is provided in the form of a shallow rectangular tray of a size to accomodate a rather large sheet cake while it is prepared for baking, baked and fully processed and which is then adapted to be cut into consistent serving portions, with the tray having peripheral walls which are readily released and swung down to provide ready access to the serving portions.
In the preparation of foods in airline kitchens, caterers, hotel and fast food kitchens sheet cake is a popular form of desert which has heretofore been handled largely by baking in a metal tray, removing the product and turning it on a board or sheet for icing and/or decorating after which it is cut into small portions for serving by use of a knife or sometimes by a special cutting tool for this purpose. Obviously, considerable work is required by the baker or his helper and reusable tools are employed which must be thoroughly cleaned for reuse.
It has been recognized that some alternative arrangement which would reduce the amount of labor and provide a greater convenience in handling this product would be highly desirable. Some efforts have been made to substitute single use, disposable tools, such as, a disposable or single use tray formed of relatively thin aluminum but this eliminates only a tray washing step and is costly, considering the cost of the aluminum tray and does not provide any other additional convenience or flexibility.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide, as an alternate to former arrangements, a disposable, single use, paperboard container which is constructed so that it may be used to handle these operations more readily and at lesser cost while providing some additional features which are considered advantageous.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a paperboard carton for use in an airline kitchen, or the like, which includes a shallow depth tray having a coating or laminate which will condition the paperboard to withstand ordinary baking oven temperatures without destruction, which is biodegradable, which may be furnished flat and set up by the user, which may have its peripherial walls readily released, after baking, to expose the cake product for icing and/or decorating, which has makings on its walls for guiding the user in cutting the finished product in uniform size pieces with a conventional knife and which may be provided with a readily disposable lid for enclosing any unused portion of the product when the side walls are swung upwardly and returned to erected position.
A further object of the invention is to provide a carton formed of paperboard which includes a single use, disposable, shallow tray suitable for preparing a bakery product, in the form of a sheet cake, by baking in a conventional oven, icing or decorating the product while it remains in the tray, and cutting the product for serving relatively small serving portions with the tray providing means to aid in consistent portion control, without the use of special cutting tools, and including a tray structure in which the sidewalls may be readily released at the corners and swung down enabling ready access to and easy serving of the product.
The invention which is herein disclosed and claimed comprises an arrangement for providing a disposable paperboard container for use in baking and serving a bakery product, such as, a sheet cake, wherein a relatively shallow depth tray is provided which can be employed for fully processing the product in a conventional bakery oven without material damage, which has hinged double panel side and end wall structures with foldable, corner connecting, integral webs which can be readily raised into upright position and locked in such position, with provision for readily tearing a top fold portion to release the wall structures and enable them to be folded down for ready and convenient access to portions of the product which can be divided into smaller servings of uniform size with an ordinary cutting tool guided by markings on the top edges of the side and end walls and thereby obtain consistent portion control.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent when consideration is given to the following description of the preferred form of the invention and the accompanying drawings in which corresponding parts are indicated by the same numerals in the various views.